Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Indy tells Washington: 'Don't attack the messenger'

The Independent in a leader today accuses Washington of "attacking the messenger" by criticising WikiLeaks for revealing thousands of Afghan war military intelligence documents.The leader says: "In their response to these documents the authorities have demonstrated that they have learned little since the leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Washington has once again attacked the messenger for compromising national security, rather than addressing the substance of the revelations. Instead of complaining about whistleblowers, the US and other Nato governments, including our own, need to explain how they will perform a thorough audit of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and prevent military spokesmen misinforming the public again. Until they make a serious commitment to enhance transparency, the only conclusion that many will draw is that the appalling picture these documents paint of the Afghan war remains the reality."

In contrast, the Sun leader today describes WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as "a clown" and says the person who leaked the documents should be "in the dock".

About Me

I am a freelance journalist based in the UK and was deputy editor of Press Gazette, the journalists' magazine, from 1993 until 2006. I want to give an independent view on media matters.
You can contact me with stories, ideas and comments by email at jon.slattery369@btinternet.com You can also follow me on Twitter @jonslattery